Saturday, June 12, 2010

It's amazing how your life can quickly twist in a new unexpected direction. Three weeks ago, all I was thinking of was surviving until today, when school would be done, and I would be free to blog and be creative and catch up with life. Three weeks ago I was dreaming of gardening and stringing beads and shopping and reading.

And then three weeks ago my dear friend Andrea had a massive stroke. Over the past three weeks she has had 3 emergency brain surgeries and various other procedures. This generous and creative teacher, who was able to do more things in a day than most people accomplished in a week, now lies in a hospital bed. Today, and each day, I sit by her bedside, holding her hand, praying, and rejoicing in each small step of improvement. She responds to the things we tell her with a strong grasp on her left side and a half smile, so we know she hears and understands. So now I am spending time trying to find clever and creative ways to encourage my friend and help her communicate with us. My summer looks much different than I had planned.

If you are a person who prays, would you please say a prayer for Andrea? She still is battling many health concerns and faces long months of therapy to help her restore some functioning to her damaged brain and body. We are not sure how much can return, but we are trusting our miraculous God to heal and help her (and us) to walk through this faith journey.

If you are interested, we have set up a Caring Bridge webpage to keep people updated on her progress and how they can pray.

So I don't know how much blogging will return this summer. Perhaps some reviews of the hospital cafe food (!), or a few projects. We'll see......... Just wanted you to know where I'll be.........